Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar

The Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar (AREMA) is a socialist political party in Madagascar, founded on 30 November 1976 as a Marxist-Leninist party. Supreme Revolutionary Council leader Didier Ratsiraka founded the party as the ruling party of the single-party Democratic Republic of Madagascar, a communist state that existed from 1976 to 1992. In 1978, the party accepted free market enterprise and abandoned communism in favor of market socialism, and the party oversaw "economic decolonization" and press censorship after lifting martial law. In 1992, Madagascar transitioned to democracy in response to discontent with the regime, and the party remained strong, with Ratsiraka serving as President of Madagascar from 1997 to 2002 after being democratically elected.